McCaw: New milestone for a legend
New Zealand captain Richie McCaw is set to equal the great Colin Meads as the most capped All Black of all time at Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata, in Buenos Aires, on Saturday.
McCaw will run out in the All Blacks jersey for the 133rd time when he faces Argentina, matching Meads' mark set between 1957 and 1971.
While Meads played 55 Tests in his 133 games, McCaw will play his 132nd Test – having made his debut in 2001 – an illustration as to how much the professional era has impacted the sport.
"Richie's such a natural, keeps himself in great shape," Meads said in an interview with 3 News.
"No matter when he played he would have made a great player, our era or the modern era, it's just he wouldn't be as wealthy as he is now," said Meads added.
Meads' career stretched over three decades, from a strapping lad of 21 straight off the farm in 1957, to the grizzly 35-year-old veteran when television turned colour in 1971.
McCaw has played 131 Tests since his debut against Ireland in 2001.
The 20-year-old kid out of Otago Boys' High earned himself man of the match.
"It's a wonderful experience to play a Test and it's gone so quick, the first 20 minutes was gone, and I looked up and thought, 'Crikey, we haven't done anything yet,'" McCaw said at the time.
His only non-Test was as losing captain against the Barbarians in 2009, while Meads played 78 games for the All Blacks that weren't Tests, but that's just how it was back in Pinetree's day.
"We had the long tours and they were marvelous," said Meads said.
"We'd go away and play 36 matches, we had a lot of those games and that's how the numbers crept up."
McCaw's 132nd game in black was two weeks ago when he scored the match-winner against the Springboks in Wellington.
Coach Steve Hansen can't see an end to his captain's career any time soon.
"I don't think he's finished yet, he's got a few more to add too hopefully," he said.
Meads hopes to be one of the first on the phone to congratulate McCaw when he does equal his record, but he's not sure if his own career would have been prolonged if he'd had the swag of backroom staff the modern players have.
"We used to pick up a physio at whatever town we'd be in and they'd come in just for the night," he said.
"I only ever used one once, and we lost the game against Newport in Wales and I never had another one."
Source: 3 News
